Jaguars @ Chargers
This was a surprisingly entertaining game, with Jacksonville proving to be a little more competitive than I expected. Gardner Minshew had some bad throws, but he kept his team in it with the help of a big game from James Robinson, and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. The big story though was Justin Herbert, who had a stand-out performance by throwing for three touchdowns and adding another with his legs. He made several really impressive throws, his deep ball looked good, and he did a great job of scrambling when those holes opened up. The Chargers defensive line ultimately proved to be too much for the Jaguars offense to handle, and Herbert had a few more throws in his bag of tricks than Minshew did and the Chargers won 39-29.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Gardner Minshew: 17/27, 173 yards, 2 TDs, 5 sacks | 4 carries, 21 yards
Gardner Minshew had an inconsistent day, alternating beautiful throws and good pocket awareness with some truly bad missed throws and plays where he looked a little panicked under pressure. He was under pressure a lot, and that seemed like it was impacting his accuracy even on the throws where he had time to throw. In particular, he badly missed D.J. Chark a few times, including on their final attempt on fourth down late in the game. Minshew did have some bright moments though, avoiding sacks to extend plays or even just to mitigate some of the damage done. This was his best throw of the day, an absolute dime to Chris Conley:
Back in Cali. Back in the endzone.
@FlightConley scores a 28-yard touchdown on his birthday. pic.twitter.com/HjviV9mbZh
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 25, 2020
It’s going to be tough for any team to win when their defense gives up 39 points, and when their offensive line lets Joey Bosa live in their backfield. The Jaguars are struggling, and Minshew hasn’t been great, but I think he showed enough today to earn himself another start. There has been talk of him being benched, but I can’t imagine Mike Glennon having any more success than Minshew is having and Minshew is still only a second-year quarterback.
Running Backs
James Robinson: 22 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD | 6 targets, 4 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD
With Chris Thompson out James Robinson dominated the snaps today and looked great doing it.
.@Robinson_jamess putting on a show in LA
📺:CBS pic.twitter.com/FJ5H6dIFrY
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 25, 2020
Robinson ran physically, falling forward frequently. On one run he trucked through a defender, on another he threw a tackler off with a stiff arm. He looked every bit the part of a true workhorse running back, and that was with his offensive line struggling with the talented defensive line of the Chargers. Start Robinson every week, and be happy you found a number one running back without paying a premium, just like the Jaguars did.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
D.J. Chark: 7 targets, 1 reception, 26 yards
Laviska Shenault: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 44 yards | 1 carry, 0 yards
Chris Conley: 2 targets, 1 reception, 28 yards, 1 TD
Keelan Cole: 2 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
James O’Shaughnessy: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 32 yards
D.J. Chark started off the game with a tough drop, and it didn’t get better from there. Minshew just couldn’t seem to connect with him as he frequently missed an open Chark. On one target, Chark made an incredible effort to make a great catch down the sideline, only for the play to be out of bounds because his toe was barely over the line. Chark was able to get open and was still getting the targets, so I wouldn’t worry too much about him, but it was disheartening to watch Minshew sail the ball over his head again and again down the stretch. Laviska Shenault wasn’t able to get free today, aside from one catch and run where he was dragging defensive players with him after the catch. Chris Conley caught the aforementioned touchdown but otherwise wasn’t involved in the offense. Keelan Cole was invisible a week after a great performance and reminded us all why we were hesitant to trust him in fantasy lineups. Dede Westbrook fumbled a kick-off and then suffered what appeared to be a very serious leg injury, likely ending his career as a Jaguar.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: 27/43, 347 yards, 3 TDs, 1 sack | 9 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD
It feels like just yesterday the Chargers were saying that Justin Herbert was the backup to Tyrod Taylor “for a reason.” Herbert was finally able to lead his team to a win, and he looked fantastic doing it. He threw several beautiful deep balls, including this one for a long touchdown:
thing of beauty 😍@_dreamjg | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/FoKxOTdq1r
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 25, 2020
His shortest touchdown throw was 22 yards, and all three were great throws where he placed the ball perfectly. He also was impressive as a runner, easily leading the team in rushing yards and even making some defenders miss.
QB1 👊
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/9nNfn3oMGj
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 25, 2020
It may have come against a pretty bad defense, but Herbert looked great. I wasn’t the biggest believer in him coming out of the draft, but he really impressed and has tentatively converted me to a believer.
Running Backs
Joshua Kelley: 12 carries, 29 yards | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 24 yards
Justin Jackson: 5 carries, 12 yards | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 43 yards
Troymaine Pope: 1 carry, 6 yards
Joshua Kelley got the majority of the work today and had a few nice runs where he did a good job to fight for extra yards, but otherwise, he was quiet. Justin Jackson was a lite more explosive on his receptions, but he didn’t play as much after coming into the game as questionable with a knee injury. The Chargers offensive line really struggled to create running lanes for either of them, and Herbert was having more success just scrambling or using zone reads to create running lanes.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Keenan Allen: 13 targets, 10 receptions, 125 yards
Mike Williams: 3 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards
Jalen Guyton: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD
Hunter Henry: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards
Virgil Green: 2 targets, 1 reception, 26 yards, 1 TD
Donald Parham: 1 target, 1 reception, 22 yards, 1 TDs
Joe Reed: 2 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD
The Jaguars shadowed Keenan Allen with C.J. Henderson, which proved to be ineffective. Allen was able to get open easily and often as Herbert’s go-to option to move the chains. Allen even made some defenders miss after the catch on a few of his receptions, and just had an all-around good game. Jalen Guyton caught a bomb from Herbert, while Virgil Green and Donald Parham each caught a ball in the endzone. Green suffered what looked to be a pretty bad ankle injury on his touchdown catch and left the game without returning. Hunter Henry appeared to get a little banged up in this game, he would have had a better stat line if Herbert hadn’t missed him on at least two pretty easy throws. Mike Williams was as quiet as his stat line would suggest.
— Dan Adams (@dadams0323 on Twitter)